A Beer Sommelier's Guide to Drinking While Eating

So it's New York Craft Beer Week, and if there's any celebration we're good for, it's a celebration of beer. Really, really good beer. Of the weeklong festivities, we stopped by the Get Real NY Craft Beer and Food Festival over the weekend, where we ran into Bill Sysak, Beverage Supervisor and Certified Cicerone of Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens in California. He taught us a few rules about pairing beer with food:

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Beer Is Better Than Wine

"Nothing beats beer and food. And the reason being — there's some simple facts. One: There's bitterness in beer, which cuts through all the fat. You don't always have that in wines, and you definitely don't have that in spirits. There is carbonation in beer, even in real ales. And the carbonation in beer refreshes the palette every time you take a drink. You have sweetness in beer that cuts through the hottest chilies. That's what makes beer such a great, unique pairing style."

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Sip, Don't Gulp, Your Beer

"You should always take three small sips. First sip you should swish around in your mouth vigorously. That will cleanse your palette from the cigarette you just had, the Dentyne gum you just chewed. Second sip, open your lips and pull air across your palette. That will open up your palette. Then the third sip will give you the true taste of beer."

The Best Beer to Drink with Meat

"Want to grill a big steak? You can't go wrong with a nicely caramelized beer. Something like a nice porter. Or you have a nice German lager, like a Dunkel, which is a dark beer. Or even a brown ale. Everybody knows Newcastle. That's a great, easy beer for people to get into. That's a good starter. That goes great when you're grilling. Beef, venison, pork, lamb — any of those things."

The Best Beer to Drink with Vegetables

"Amber ale goes really good with a lot of vegetables that you would grill or a classic ratatouille. Then if you're doing any of the other things that vegetarians get stuck with — things like soy products, things that are grilled imitation burgers — you can just imitate the beers that are recommended for meat products and they come into play really nicely because they're imitating the flavor profile."

There May Be Fish in Your Beer

"First of all, if you're a vegan you should check with your beer. Some breweries actually use fish byproducts for fining — in other words, they use them to brighten the beer, to make it so it's very clear. So beware of that."